This invention relates to a method for rapidly mixing and melting glass-forming materials. In conventional methods and apparatus for melting, glass is made by introducing glass-forming materials into an apparatus known as a furnace or tank which is likely to hold about 300 tons of molten glass, quantities of heat are added to the glass to bring the glass-forming materials to a molten state; additional batch material is fed onto the surface of already molten glass within the furnace, where it floats on the top of the molten glass; and the batch material is gradually melted into the molten mass of glass in the furnace. Physical action and chemical reactions during the heating of the molten mass of glass in the furnace lead to the generation of "gaseous inclusions." These gaseous inclusions are then removed from the molten glass mass by continued heating of the mass in the refining portion of the furnace for periods ranging from 24 to 36 hours. The rate of processing of glass in a prior art furnace is very slow, due to the time required to remove the gaseous inclusions formed during the melting process.
In a copending United States application Ser. No. 130,672, filed Apr. 12, 1971, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,754,886 having a common assignee with the present application, there is disclosed and claimed a method for refining molten glass having gaseous inclusions therein by rotating the mass of glass in a chamber to form a paraboloidal void and thereby cause pressure gradients in the glass to force the gaseous inclusions out of the glass. Such method and apparatus permit the unrefined molten glass that is introduced into the chamber to contain a higher number of gaseous inclusions that has heretofore been possible to the extent that the unrefined molten glass delivered to the chamber may be foamy melted glass.
Among the objects of this invention are to provide a method and apparatus for rapidly melting glass-making materials utilizing reduced volumetric areas of the melting chamber, utilizing a lower melting temperature than required by the prior art methods and apparatus to produce a molten glass having gaseous inclusions which can thereafter be further refined to remove the gaseous inclusions.